Sofia's Trick and Cedric's Treat
by Kyonomiko
Summary: It's the annual All Hallows' Eve Gala in Enchancia and Sofia is hoping to surprise her sorcerer with an impressive costume. His reaction surprises her.


Cedric finds himself, where he most often does, in his workshop at the top of the castle's tallest tower. Tasked with the usual inane party tricks for which he seems to be almost exclusively employed, he ponders for the millionth time how a kingdom with such shallow sovereignty has yet to fall to its betters.

For a long time, he thought perhaps he was one of those betters but that was a decade ago. Somehow over the course of nearly fifteen years he has settled in to his life and let go of any aspirations to enact dramatic change. He blames _her_ of course. Princess bleeding Sofia with her inquisitive stare and insufferable questions and pretty pink lips…

No one person has any business being so irritatingly perfect, especially one so far out of his league, over his station, and beneath his age.

As he applies finishing touches to the little pumpkin favors that will explode in an outpouring of confetti and treats, a knock interrupts him and he nearly drops his wand at the shock of it.

"Yes?!" He barks the response but there is no need as his door is already creaking open to reveal Sofia, his friend and torment. Of course it is. Who else would be so bold but disturb him and not so much as wait for invitation?

"Mr. Cedric! I need a favor!"

He rolls his eyes at her and places the pumpkin back on his workshop desk. "Of course you do. Why else come tearing in here like the very hounds of hell were at your heels."

She rolls her eyes right back and perches herself on a stool mere inches to his left. "I come here all the time for other things. Don't make me sound so shallow."

He gruffs in response but doesn't argue. She's right of course. Sofia is anything but shallow. And she does visit, quite often in fact. Sometimes for no other reason than to deliver a tea service and chat as they sip together.

"Well, out with it. These ridiculous little gourds won't enchant themselves."

"Are those for the party tonight?" She eyes them with curiosity and goes to touch one.

He lightly taps her hand away, a familiarity he is still sometimes surprised they both afford him. But after this many years they couldn't help but fall into a friendship, unmatched by any he's ever had.

"Do you imagine they were for my own entertainment?" He sweeps his arm to indicate the room. "Favors for the party I will throw for all my numerous friends?"

"So you'll be at the ball tonight then?" She smiles and Cedric answers back with one of his own.

"Of course. Not as though I've a choice in the matter."

Cedric begins to levitate the pumpkins, shrinking them as he does, into a satchel so they might be easily transported to the ballroom. As he works, he can tell she is watching from the corner of her eye and finally sighs, feeling like he's missed a cue.

"So what is it then?" The last pumpkin floats inside, temporarily the size of a grape and he latches the top with flourish.

"What's what… oh! The favor?"

"Obviously," he drawls.

"Remember when I was a little girl and Amber wanted that butterfly costume?"

Well how could he forget? The vapid little twit had allowed herself to be completely manipulated by none other than himself as a scheme to acquire Sofia's magic amulet. No longer a focus of his desire, the necklace still lies against Sofia's trim neck but no longer holds his interest. His gaze instead tends to drift to the cleavage beneath before he snaps himself back up to her face and glances away sheepishly.

It's unhealthy really, this obsession.

"Yes, I remember quite clearly that it was a terrible idea and she ended up stuck in an altered form."

He sees her hesitate before a small grin quirks her lips and she replies, "Yes but that was years ago. And Mistress Flora knew the counter-charm. I'm sure you've learned by _now_ how to end it after the party right?"

There something about the gleam in her eye that makes him swallow a lump of guilt. She couldn't possibly know the truth could she? That he was fully aware how to end the charm and let Princess Amber languish, cursed, to trick her into stealing the amulet for Cedric's dubious purpose.

So he sighs once again and says, "Yes, I believe I know the potion to reverse the magic. What do you want to be?"

She beams at him but shakes her finger and her head in the negative. "Nuh uh. That's a surprise. I was hoping you might just loan me the spellbook and a cauldron." She looks so blasted hopeful and he hates to disappoint her. It's not lost on him she is now the one doing the manipulating and he's completely susceptible to it.

He approaches his shelf to retrieve a book and places it inside a cauldron. "This book has the potion and also the counter potion. Pages eighty-six and ninety-seven."

Gathering the ingredients, he places various jars and vials inside as well. Finally, the last ingredient, a rare plant that has been treated and dried, he pinches a small amount and goes to fold it inside a bit of parchment.

"How much of that will I use?"

"This entire amount is enough for the potion."

"Could I…maybe have a little extra?"

He cocks his eyebrow and looks at her in question. "In case I mess up a batch. I'm still learning you know. I've not brewed much by myself before. Without you." She bites her lip and looks at him through her lashes and Cedric nearly groans.

Instead he grits his teeth and angrily pinches another bit of the dried ingredient. "Fine," he growls. Doesn't she realize what it does to him when she looks at him that way?

He drops in the last item and pushes the cauldron toward her.

"Here. Now leave me be. You have a potion to create and I have to deliver these silly pumpkins."

She giggles and hops off the chair. Taking the cauldron, she perches on her toes and drops a quick kiss on his cheek. Nothing more than a brush of lips on skin but he hates how much it makes him _want._

_XX_XX_XX_XX_

The Royal Sorcerer of Enchancia hates parties. He hates a lot of things but parties definitely sit at the top of his proverbial list.

Cedric finds himself standing alone, peering out over the crowd and wondering what form Sofia has decided to take. He's just taking a sip of his pumpkin ale when, from the corner of his eye, he sees what appears to be a wood nymph. She has skin that appears nearly as the bark of a tree and foliage growing from the tangled tresses of her hair. Barely swathed in gossamer, she has an ethereal beauty but tempered with the earthy quality of her being.

And she positively reeks of magic.

The nymph bows slightly and says in a strange voice that sounds like the whisper of wind, "Good evening, Mr. Cedric."

He gives her a lop-sided grin and drawls out, "hellooooo….. _Princess_."

"What? I...how did you know it was me?"

He laughs a little and looks her up and down. "A word of advice: If you don't want anyone to suspect you cheated with magic, don't make it quite so convincingly real. You can't imagine anyone could think make-up and fabric could give this effect?"

"I… but… ooooh!" She huffs and stomps her foot before stalking off, snatching a glass of champagne from a passing tray as she goes.

Cedric chuckles to himself. He didn't mean to ruin her fun but really, what did she think?

_XX_XX_XX_

It is a short time later when Cedric is approached again, this time by a woman with whom he is not acquainted.

"Hello, Master Sorcerer." Her voice is husky and he knows immediately she is giving all the signs of a woman who would not object to any advances on his part.

"Madame," he offers back and takes a drink from a passing tray, offering it to her politely.

"Thank you." The woman takes it and sips before returns her gaze to his face. She is lovely, now that he takes a moment to notice.

Tall and slender with generous curves and silky black hair falling in sheets, she is a standard of beauty. Her costume is nothing special, he notes. Some pirate get-up. An excuse for tight trousers and a low cut top, if he's guessing. Standard fare for a woman of her sort. She isn't a village woman, to have been invited, but nor is she royalty. Gentry most likely. A lesser noble. Possibly hoping to snag a suitor. At the least, looking for a casual tussle with a man.

Truthfully she is probably a good match for someone of his position. Royal Sorcerer is a title with some weight after all. "I couldn't help but notice you seem on your own, sir. Would it be too forward if I asked to keep you company?"

There is a significance in her tone. She is asking for more than permission to share a drink and suddenly Cedric is imagining the possibilities. To his disappointment, he finds he isn't able to fully enjoy her attention. Squeezing his eyes closed to steel himself, he only sees soft pink lips and lush auburn curls.

When he looks at her again, she is peering at him in question, waiting with parted lips and a light blush on her cheeks.

"I don't think," he begins slowly, cursing his own stupidity, "that would be appropriate."

She giggles. "I'm not married if that's what you think."

Cedric shakes his head a bit. "No, I didn't assume so. It's just… you're not really my type I suppose."

She looks down at herself, a frown on her lips. "What's wrong with me?"

"Nothing!" He answers quickly. "I mean, you are a beautiful woman, don't misunderstand. You're just not…" He doesn't know how to finish. She _is_ beautiful. He was sincere in that assessment. But she's not _her_. Even though he knows he can never have her, he would feel as though he was betraying his Sofia to even consider a meaningless romp.

"Oh! Are you…? I'm terribly sorry if I've offended you. If you don't… desire _women_." She hits the last word with significance and Cedric is slow to understand.

"What do you…? Oh, Merlin no, that's not what I meant at all. I'm fond of women, in the abstract I just…" He pinches the bridge of his nose and finally lands on something close to truth. "It's just that there's someone else. Another woman."

She is notably surprised. "I was given to understand the Royal Sorcerer was unattached."

"I am. Officially. She's not appropriate to my station but regardless, my heart and my fealty…" his gaze sweeps the room and lands on the wood nymph, chatting and laughing with Prince James, "belongs to the Princess of this castle."

He eyes seems to follow his and lands on the nymph as well. "The…the princess? Is that?..."

"Yes," he answers without tearing his eyes away. "It's a good costume but I can see through it. She's not as clever as she thinks. And I love her completely." He's never said it out loud but now that he's given it voice, he knows it's true. He's in love with Sofia.

"I…I see. Well then."

When he looks up the woman is walking away. Pity that, really. Cedric must be the stupidest man in the room. The woman was gorgeous. And amenable. Eager, even.

"What in Merlin's name is wrong with you," he hisses at himself. Then he looks back at his princess and his goofy smile is his own answer.

_XX_XX_XX_

Poseidon's Pumpkins, what has he done?

Cedric tries to settle back into the party after his encounter with the beautiful siren who tried to tempt him. Unfortunately he is feeling a sense of dread at what transpired.

He admitted it. Admitted his affection for Princess Sofia… and to a _stranger_. It's only a matter of time, he imagines, before it gets back to the royal family. His only hope is that the woman will be too embarrassed at having been spurned to tell anyone of the encounter. What had possessed him to be so open to the young woman?

Well, if his demise is sealed, he may as well own up to it before it reaches Sofia's ears in the form of a rumor. Who knows, maybe she would even return his feelings?

Stupid. _That's just stupid, Cedric_ , he thinks. She would be free to do so, actually. Her Father has already given her his leave to choose her own path. Amber is to be groomed as his successor and James is courting a Princess in line for her throne. Sofia can marry, or not marry, who she likes.

But of course it's ridiculous to imagine she would want _him_.

He finds her again, this time chatting with her parents.

"Excuse me, Your Highness, but might I steal your daughter away a moment?"

"Of course, of course! No surprise you could see through her costume. Might there be a little magic involved here?" There is a twinkle in the king's eye that relaxes Cedric slightly. It seems he will avoid the chopping block for now.

"I assure you I had no part in brewing a potion for the spell. But of course you know Sofia is relatively proficient with the art of potion making."

King Roland chuckles. "I'll give you credit for that fact though." He takes his wife's hand. "Come, Miranda, he asked for a word and I believe I see Magnus over by the buffet. Let's see what he thinks of our girl's impressive bit of magic."

They walk away and Cedric turns back to his nymph to find her eyebrow raised. "Can I help you?"

She's still cross it seems. "I apologize, Princess. I certainly didn't mean to ruin your fun. It is an impressive costume and a good bit of magic. You have full credit for the design."

She smiles at that and looks down, smoothing the silk down her waist. "It is lovely isn't it? I found a picture in a book as inspiration."

He looks at her a moment, tries to find his Sofia somewhere in her face. In her eyes. It's disconcerting, having this conversation with the appearance of a stranger. But perhaps it's for the best. Maybe this will help him find his courage.

"I wanted to find you, to tell you… Princess, I know I can be a prickly man. Difficult. I don't think I show you often but, you really do mean the world to me. You'd probably never know it, the way I behave, but it's true and I needed you to know that."

She is eyeing him warily and he doesn't know if he should backpedal or charge forward. He hadn't expected a declaration of love but, being Sofia, an understanding? An affectionate acceptance.

"I mean you are a beautiful woman. Kind and clever and like no one I've had the pleasure to know. You have my respect and my loyalty and…" _My heart_ , he wants to add but her continued blank stare stops him.

"Yes… thank you, Mr. Cedric. That's very kind."

"Yes, well… it just... I just wanted to tell you and… anyway enjoy your evening, Princess. Good night."

With a swish of his robes, Cedric flies from the room in mortification, never looking back to see that horrible perplexed look on his beautiful nymph's face.

_XX_XX_XX_

A short time later, Sofia is approaching her room, her costume still glamored on her form but her face is screwed up in thought.

What a strange night with Mr. Cedric. When she went to him today to beg the ingredients for the spell he had seemed his normal self. She never would have guessed… To say she is upset is a vast understatement.

She doesn't hear someone approach behind her, though the steps echo in the empty corridor here, only steps from her bed chamber.

"What are you doing here?"

She turns to find Cedric looking at her strangely. "I was tired of the party."

"So you thought you would just wander the castle corridors alone and unchaperoned?"

She's confused and searches her eyes around her, trying to put her thoughts together. "I'm not wandering. I thought I would just go to bed."

"You're… you're sleeping here?" Now he seems confused.

"Of course I am. Where else would I sleep?"

"Your own home? The village? I don't know, somewhere else."

"Cedric, what's gotten into you?"

"Are you drunk?" His expression softens a little. "I can help you, if you need. I'm sorry I hadn't realized. Can I fetch you a carriage?"

"A carriage?" She has gone past confused and is entering into being a litttle scared of him. "Are you being cruel on purpose? Because I tried to… to seduce you? I'm sorry I… I didn't know you were already in love with someone else." She feels a tear fall down her cheek and doesn't even try to stop it.

She sees him sigh before he steps forward. "Well it's a rather moot point since she doesn't have any affection for me."

Sofia gives him an incredulous look. "Did you actually think she did?"

"I'd hoped—no. You're right I didn't believe it really. But it changes nothing. I find myself no less loyal in the wake of her rejection."

"Well… then I suppose you know how I feel." She sniffs, letting a little petulant anger wash over her.

"Hardly. I think that is unfair comparison. I've pined for her for years."

"What do you mean by that? Because I didn't live here until I was eight? Honestly, Cedric that's just… creepy." At this she turns and opens the door to her room. "I'm done with this. Goodnight, Mr. Cedric."

She slams the door behind her and flops down on her bed.

_XX_XX_XX_

Cedric watches the raven-haired woman slam the door to Princess Sofia's bedroom. He is struck dumb for a few moments, staring after her, before he stalks down the corridor and throws the door open.

The woman is on Sofia's bed, sobbing into her hands, but looks up at him startled by the noise. "What the hell do you think you're doing in my room?!"

"This is the Princess Sofia's room. I really must insist you leave or I will be forced to call the guards."

"The guards… Cedric, I _am_ Sofia."

"Don't be ridiculous. Sofia is downstairs at the party in an impressive wood nymph costume thanks to my magic. You, on the other hand, are wearing a mediocre pirate costume in a rather questionable attempt at male attention." He sees her face go red at that.

"Questionable… I was trying to get _your_ attention you… you… ugh!" She pauses a moment and then stands, crossing half the distance between them. "Wait, you said Sofia is in a nymph costume?"

"Yes, the most impressive costume at the ball. Obviously done by magic."

At that Cedric watches the woman giggle and he's surprised to find she seems familiar all of a sudden, her hand covering her mouth demurely while she laughs.

"Cedric… _I'm_ Sofia. The nymph is Amber." He looks like he absolutely doesn't believe her and she dares another step closer. "You thought that was me? The nymph? Does that mean _I'm_ the one… were you talking about me when you said you'd given your heart to a Princess?"

"I…I…" He stammers but doesn't have any idea where to go with this.

Suddenly she turns and pulls a small glass vial from a drawer at her vanity. She gives him a single lifted finger, indicating to wait a moment, and chugs the liquid down. Her body begins to change. She loses at least six inches in stature and her hair kinks itself back up into auburn curls. Her eyes change from green to blue, softening at the edges and then it's not the black-haired woman anymore. His Sofia is looking at him with nervous tension on her expression.

She starts to walk back his direction. "It was Amber's idea, the magic costume. I told her I would help her because she knew you wouldn't brew it for her. Then I just… I thought since I was doing it for her I could do it for me too."

Cedric has no idea how to respond. The nymph that seemed so put off by his declaration wasn't his Sofia. She's here, right in front of him in a rather revealing pirate costume.

He swallows. "So you… why did you approach me at the party?"

Another step and she is right in front of him. "I thought if I didn't look like me you wouldn't be so reserved, like you always are with me. I was going to tell you before anything happened. I wasn't trying to trick you, not really. I just wanted a chance to get close."

At this point she is inches away, her chest nearly pressed against his, her face tilted up to lock her gaze with his own.

"You're close now." It's not a good line. Cedric has never been particularly smooth with women.

"I am." Her eyes search his and then her mouth pillows his bottom lip.

"You silly girl," he whispers against her mouth. "Always making everything into an adventure."

She giggles and then he crashes against her and they tumble onto the bed behind her.

"I love you," he says as he sweeps a sleeve off her shoulder.

"So you said." She grips his head and pulls him down so that his lips nuzzle against her collar bone, arching as he places soft kisses there. "And I love you."

_XX_XX_XX_

The next morning, at breakfast, Sofia plans to tell her family that she is officially in courtship with the royal sorcerer. He has retreated to his tower to inform his parents through their enchanted painting then will be approaching Roland to make his formal plea. She's absolutely floating, glowing with happiness, when she takes her seat.

Her parents are not yet at the table and James is busy with some contraption their chef Gwen had cooked up (no pun intended).

Sofia looks over at Amber to find her staring intently at the table.

"Are you ok, Amber? You look a bit pale?"

"What? Oh yes, I'm fine. It's just…" She looks around as though concerned to be overheard before she leans over and whispers, "I think Mr. Cedric is in love with me!"

Much to Amber's agitation, Sofia laughs harder than she ever has.

END!

 **What better time for a little costume party trope than October? Just a little fun fluff since I've not touched the Cedfia ship in some time. If you enjoyed please leave a review or drop me a favorite.**

 **Happy Halloween!**


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